Retribution- A Hunger Games Fanfiction
by Jinxcharm9
Summary: Two rare volunteer tributes ready to carry out a 9 year old grudge, a group of Careers more bloodthirsty than ever before, a Brother and Sister facing the harsh reality that only one of them can possibly make it out alive, and an unassumingly harmless tribute ready to strike at any moment, all together in a fight to the death in an arena that's just as murderous as the tributes are
1. The Reaping

**_When I look into her deep brown eyes, I can see the pain, the suffering, the sadness. But they also have a hunger for revenge. The same hunger I have._**

**(Jinx's POV)**

I open the door and walk down the decrepit set of stairs placed at the front of the house and immediately turn and start heading for my old home. Although I can't see it because of the dense fog, it's part of my daily routine to visit and I know the route so well that I can do it blindfolded. Finally, I see the sunken-in roof and I quicken my pace. I go straight to the yard in the back and I kneel down in front of the worn, faded piece of concrete that marks my brother's grave.

I remain there for several minutes until I hear the familiar voice of Chrome over the loudspeaker, "All Citizens report to the Justice Building at once, the Reaping is about to start."

Before I turn away from my brother's grave, I read the inscription one last time.

R.I.P.

Lucas Ballast

49 A.D.D. - 62 A.D.D.

"Remembered by his loving family: Mommy, Daddy, and little brother, Jinx"

I begin to tear up as I look at the little handprint on the grave... my handprint... when I was 6. I was 6 when he died. No. Died isn't the right word. More like, killed, murdered. I touch my handprint on the marker one last time as I slowly get up and begin my way into town. This was the year that my brother would be avenged.

I walk to the Justice Building, got checked-in, and took my place amongst the other 15 year old boys of the District.

I hear Chrome, the escort for District 6, begin to speak, "Welcome, citizens of District 6, to the annual Reaping Ceremony. As part of the tradition we will start with..."

I think about my parents. They disappeared the year after my brother entered the arena. It wasn't a mystery as to why it happened. Another boy across town was reaped for the Games the year after my brother was. My parents went over to his parents' house all the time to console them. They talked badly about the Capitol. One night a Peacekeeper was eavesdropping and heard them talking. He called in back-up and arrested them with the charge of treason. I'm assuming they were taken to the Capitol and killed since I haven't heard from them. I've lived with my foster family from then on. They're nice and let me do whatever I want, but I've never gotten really attached to them, and when I told them about my plan, they understood.

With their approval and support, I began to train everyday in the privacy of their large basement. I started to prepare for what I was eventually going to do. Volunteer.

And this year, I feel prepared enough.

"And now... the time everyone has been anxious for... The Reaping!" says Chrome excitedly. "Ladies first."

Chrome's hand moves sporadically all over the glass bowl containing the names of every girl between the ages of 12 and 18 of the District.

His hand suddenly snatches up a folded piece of paper with an unfortunate girl's name written on it, "Adrianna Pendolino," he announces.

I look over to see the 17 year old girl beginning to cry as she reluctantly walks toward the stage via the cleared aisle that separates the boys and girls.

As she takes her place on stage, Chrome starts to speak, "And now for the gentlemen."

I look around at the boys who are lucky enough to be spared this year. Their pointless worrying. But none of that matters, I am going to volunteer no matter who gets reaped.

Chrome searches for a paper and slowly unfolds it, "Sawyer Carrak," he reads.

Sawyer was a cool guy. He's loved by everyone in school and I'm glad that I'm saving him from the Games.

Sawyer takes his place on stage next to Adrianna as Chrome speaks the words I've been so anxious to hear, "Now that we have our two tributes, would anyone like to volunteer for either of them?"

My hand immediately shoots up towards the sky as I shout, "I volunteer!". Then...I realize that I didn't hear just my voice, my hand wasn't the only one raised. There was another volunteer.

"Oh my! We have two volunteers this year! How wonderful!" Chrome exclaims.

The boys clear a path for me to the stage and as I walk up the steps I turn to see who else raised their hand, a girl my age walking up the opposite set of stairs. Wait... I knew who she was. She goes to the same school as I do, but we never talk. The thing I can't figure out is... why would she volunteer?

"What's your name?" Chrome asks me.

"Jinx Ballast."

"And you?" He moves the microphone over to her.

"Ryleigh Aileron."

"Well District 6. There you have it. Now won't you give your tributes a round of applause for being so eager to volunteer!"

The crowd cheers out of gratitude for the sacrifice that we are making.

Chrome nudges us to start walking into the Justice Building, "You two have a few minutes to say good-bye to anyone you'd like before we set-off for the Capitol."

"I won't need that, I have no one to say good-bye to." Ryleigh says with an expressionless face.

"...Okay... Well, how about you Jinx?"

"I've already said my good-byes."

"Good. With that, let's get to introducing you to your mentors."

I cross my fingers that I wasn't given any of the morphling Victors as my mentor.

A door leading to the mayor's office opens and emerges two women. I breathe a sigh of relief as neither of them were morphlings. Instead, I recognize these two Victors as Nova and Cassandra.

"Jinx you will be given Nova, and Ryleigh, you have Cassandra."

Nova walks up to me and says, "I've heard alot about you. When I heard that you voulunteered I demanded to be the boy tribute's mentor this year. I knew your brother and if you're here for the reasons that I think you are, I am going to do everything in my power to help you accomplish your goal." she smiles.

Ryleigh's head turns my way and she asks, "Wait. Why are you doing this?"

"I should ask you the same thing. Why did you volunteer?" I question.

"Are you serious? You don't remeber his parents?" says Cassandra.

"No. What does that have anything to do with this?" Ryleigh's voice escalates.

"...Wait...Ryleigh..."

She turns her head towards me.

"Did your parents have the same two visitors over at your house all the time?" I wonder.

"Is this a game of 20 questions or something!? What does this have to do with anything!?" Ryleigh yells.

"Answer the damn question!"

"Yes...but why...?"

It all hits me at once. I know exactly who she is.

"Those were my parents..." I yell.

"...Wait. What?"

"Those were my parents."

I look into her eyes and I can tell that she understands. We've both been through the same thing. I can see tears forming at the corners of her eyes as I open my arms to comfort her.

"It's okay. It's okay..." my voice shakes.

We hug for at least 5 minutes and then I can feel her releasing her locked fingers from behind my back.

When I look into her deep brown eyes, I can see the pain, the suffering, the sadness. But they also have a hunger for revenge. The same hunger I have.


	2. It All Begins

**_"I want to kill all the careers and everyone that gets in my way. I don't care whether I live or die. I want to kill as much as possible. I know it's a morbid outlook, but it's really the truth." _**

**(Jinx's POV)**

"We better get on the train. It's about to leave soon," Nova urges.

We walk towards the town's train station through the Justice Building's access point.

On Line 2, in the middle of our old and tattered train station sits the Capitol's High-Speed Bullet Train. It is gorgeous, nothing like I have ever seen in District 6. It is painted the purest white with blue tinted windows all highlighted by a chrome trim.

The first room that we enter on the train is the TV Room. Ryleigh and I take our seats on the comfortable leather couch located along the wall opposite the TV.

Cassandra and Nova stand up in front of us and Cassandra says, "First off, would you guys like to be trained separately or together as a team?"

If I say together, will she yes or no? I mean... we have the same resolve...

"Together?" I ask.

Ryleigh smiles and nods in agreement.

"Good. Now that that is settled, we can move on. Nova and I have agreed that we should start off by watching the recaps of today's reaping. That way, you guys can size everyone up and get a feel for what this year's competition is," says Cassandra as she turns the TV on and sits on the couch.

"Tonight on Panem News, breaking news! The Reaping Recap! And I'm your host, Caesar Flickerman! Let's get right to the tape shall we! Starting with District 1."

The Boy from District 1 was really scrawny at the age of 16. Surprisingly, he wasn't a volunteer and District 1 had an "off-year" with the boys. I assume that none of the trainees were ready yet. The Girl from District 1 was a volunteer though. She looked extremely menacing. She was huge. Almost 6 foot. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. She didn't show arrogance like typical careers do. Instead, she acted very mysterious, quiet, and had a commanding feel to her.

"She's the competition. No doubt," Ryleigh says out loud.

I just nod and keep my eyes glued to the screen.

District 2's tributes were both volunteers. The boy had the physical structure of a truck. HUGE and very muscular. The most arrogant career I have ever seen. The girl seemed to be somewhat of an airhead. No brains in there at all. The boy from District 3 was really nerdy and awkward. He was on the older side, but not threatening. The girl was on the younger side of the spectrum of the tributes and was also quiet. She has a very bipolar feel to her. She gave off many different feels that really confused me. Both from 4 seemed like typical Career tributes. Nothing special to note there. I felt horrible for the tributes of District 5. The girl is about 15 years old. Really attractive with her blonde hair and blue eyes. And then her brother's name was called... It turned out that he had turned 12 the day OF the reaping. Counting days and minutes, he will be the youngest tribute ever to have entered the arena. As soon as his name was called, his sister ran off the platform to her brother and tried to shove him back to his mom. The peacekeepers had to interfere and drag her onto the stage. The look on their mother's face was pure torture. How would you feel if you could only get one of your kids back? If any at all? There is a good chance that neither of them will get out alive. I'm sorry to say it, but I'd be surprised if the boy isn't the first one to be killed at the bloodbath. I am not going to be the one who kills him. His sister will come after me with a vengeance.

Anyways, next is District 6. They showed the video of Ryleigh and I raising our hands and running to the stage.

"A shocker at the reaping! TWO volunteers from District 6. Very unusual. We will have to keep our eyes on them!"

I look over at Ryleigh and we both laugh in delight. We got the Capitol's attention. The four of us celebrate our good impression on the Capitol. So we miss the reaping video of District 7 and 8. All I heard in the background while were are laughing was a lot of crying. Tons of it. District 9 had some vicious tributes. The girl really scared me. She had black eyes that pierced your soul. The boy looked like he was 2nd in command compared to the girl. District 10's male tribute was really small and skinny. The girl wasn't threatening, but looked like I could underestimate her. The boy from 11 was 18 years and was pretty large in size. He was about 6 inches taller than me. More muscular too. The girl was pretty small. She was beautiful, about 13 years old. The two from 12 looked like they were about to pass out from standing in the sun for only a few minutes. They won't be much of a threat.

After the video ends our mentors ask, "Who do you feel like your competition is?"

"The girl from District 1, both from District 2, and both from District 9," I answer.

"Don't forget about District 4 and the guy from District 11." Ryleigh finished for me.

"Good. That's exactly who we thought," affirms Nova. "Now that we know who you're up against, let's start strategizing."

"Let's begin with you Ryleigh. What are you good at?" questions Cassandra.

"Well, I've been training with throwing knives for 6 years now. I'm pretty skilled in that field. And I've watched every single Games over and over again so that I'm prepared for whatever they throw at me. Because of that, I'm good with thinking on the spot and staying one step ahead of the Capitol."

"What about you Jinx?" Nova asks me.

"Weirdly enough, I've trained with throwing knives too! But besides that, I'm pretty tech-savvy and stealthy."

"Seems like we have a lot here to work with here. Don't we Cassandra?" says Nova.

Cassandra nods and begins to speak, "Well. You guys should get something to eat. You're probably really hungry. The buffet is right over there. Meet Nova and I in the dining room in a few minutes. We have some business to attend to first."

They exit the room and Ryleigh and I are alone.

"So. What's your goal in all of this?" I say as we both get up and go to the buffet table. "I mean why did you volunteer?"

"Probably the same reason as you. To avenge my brother. I planned this day after my brother died. I want to kill all the careers and everyone that gets in my way. I don't care whether I live or die. I want to kill as much as possible. I know it's a morbid outlook, but it's really the truth."

"I feel the same way. It's not like we have anything to go home to." I say as I grab a roll, butter, and jam and head to the dining room.

Ryleigh nods in response and we sit there in silence as we finish our dinner. Right when I finish my last piece of bread, Cassandra and Nova enter the room, fix their plates, and sit down at the table.

"We should reach the Capitol late tonight, so don't be afraid to get some rest in the bedrooms. The tribute parade is tomorrow night," Cassandra mumbles with a mouthful of food.

District 6 isn't located far from the Capitol because of their constant need of cars, trains, planes and everything travel related. Although it's relatively close compared to other districts, it would take days to travel to the Capitol on foot. It's conceivable that we would arrive there quickly considering we are going more than 200 miles per hour.

I wait until Nova and Cassandra are finished eating dinner. Then I get up and look out the window. A lot of time has passed and it's now fully dark outside. I scan in both directions to try to see any of the Capitol's lights...Nope... Nothing. We probably still have a few hours to go until we even see the Capitol's lights. So I decide to get some rest in the bedroom designated to me.

"I'm going to head to my room guys. If I fall asleep come and wake me up when we get to the outskirts of the Capitol," I say as I walk to my room. "Good Night!"

The three of them say good night and I take the long walk down the hallway to my room. The furniture in the room itself is pretty plain, but the room is made beautiful by a chandelier made of fragmented glass. I walk over to the closet in search of something to sleep in. Only a District 6 T-shirt and a a pair of comfortable shorts for me to sleep in were provided. I shut the door, changed, and climbed into bed.

A few hours later Nova knocks on my door to wake me up, "Jinx! Wake up! We're almost to the Capitol."

I rush around the room to get changed into my old clothes and I push the door open and I run to the nearest window where Nova, Cassandra, and Ryleigh were. I look out the window and the Capitol is starting to come into view. Another few minutes and we should be at the train station.

"Now remember. You two already have the Capitol's attention and interest," Cassandra points at Ryleigh and me, "So make sure you guys keep yourself in the spotlight. Be friendly and give the crowd some energy! That's how you'll get sponsors."

"A crowd?" says Ryleigh, puzzled. "It's like 2 in the morning."

"Doesn't matter." Cassandra replies. "There's a party every time a train is scheduled to arrive. Even at this time of day, they'll still be out there to take a look at you guys."

I am excited at the thought of basically being a celebrity in the Capitol... but then I realize... I haven't seen Chrome in hours.

"Where is Chrome?" I ask. "We haven't seen him since the moment we got on the train."

"Well... He's ummm...He thinks you guys are stupid for volunteering for the Games. He doesn't want to come out and talk with you two because thinks you two are idiots. Little does he know that you two are very capable fighters. Once you get good scores on the private sessions, I think he'll start to accept you guys. Just ignore him for now," Nova smiles.

We arrive at the Capitol train station and that's when Chrome decides to come out of his little room. I give him a dirty look as we step outside the train. A group of peacekeepers guard us from the crazy Capitol fans.

Ryleigh and I wave at them and keep them entertained. I look around at the train station and I notice that there are a total of 12 lines in the station. I look around and I see two trains with the numbers 1 and 2 written on them. That must mean Districts 1 and 2 already arrived.

We are escorted by the peacekeepers all the way to the elevator on the far end of the station that takes us up to our level halfway up the building.

"Okay guys get some sleep. The tribute parade is tonight and you guys need all the rest you can get. Your prep team will be here early to pick you up. G'night everyone," says Cassandra, yawning.

Everyone heads to their rooms and my room is adjacent to Ryleigh's so we walk down the hallway together.

"I'll see you in the morning." Ryleigh says, smiling.

"You too."

I enter my room. I climb into bed and I stare at the window at the wonderful early morning view of the Capitol. I can't fall asleep, my mind is racing with thoughts of everything. About whether or not I would be successful in the games. About my parents. And about the probability of my brother being in this exact same room years ago. I try to push all of this aside, but I can't. After an eternity it seems, the feeling of exhaustion overcomes my body.


End file.
